Below are the letters. You can submit a letter to the editor at RGJ.com/letters.

Why stop this family's expression?

What has happened to "free speech?" Why was the obituary written for Marianne Theresa Johnson-Reddick pulled? Why are you protecting a child abuser?

It’s this sort of action of turning "a blind eye" and "protecting" the abuser that has allowed child abuse to continue long after there have been laws put in place to protect children.

Shame on you. Instead of censorship, the Reno Gazette-Journal should respect the wishes of the surviving family. If they choose to announce their relative's death using these words, that's their choice.

If they choose to expose the ugliness of child abuse and help put a stop to it for future generations, why stop them?

If we don’t learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.

Alexander Galant, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Family was right to highlight ‘evil’

Hats off to the siblings of the 78-year-old woman who they allege abused them. It seems their response to her death is admirable to say the least. They are absolutely right in highlighting the evil which some so called parents commit. While my own circumstances regarding my own parents would horrify most people, they were not quite as psychotic as those set forth in this woman's obituary.

If I was to attend my own mother's funeral one day I would use a similar obituary as did these heroic siblings. I would take no pleasure in doing that but feel they would be words which need to be spoken.

Even in Australia we have similar cases to the Johnson siblings. The life exercise relating to this type of evil seems to be firstly in survival and secondly in self development. I think these ignorant kinds of parents are given to some of us to goad us into being as far removed from them as we can possibly be.

All the very best wishes to the Johnson siblings. May they keep up the good work.

Cailan David, Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia

Obit should be reinstated online

I must say I respectfully disagree with your decision to omit the obituary of the abusive mother. She created a terrible legacy and deserves to be remembered as such. I think you can at least leave it up for a year for the family so that people know what that terrible lady was like. They were honest. This is closure for them. Taking it down tells them that they aren't important.

Please reinstate it for a more extended period of time. There are many people out there who do this type of stuff to their family members. I have first hand experience. The lifetime of pain and suffering they cause, you can be thankful that you will never know.

Jayam Ero, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Obituary told a painful truth

This is in response to pulling the obituary for Marianne Theresa Johnson-Reddick.

As one who lived through a similar hell, I congratulate the family on their honesty. While this may be an unusual obituary, it is an honest one.

Beyond confirming the source of the obituary, the newspaper should not be in the business of censorship. Please understand that the truth can be painful.

For some of us the truth is all we have to compensate us for the evil that was done to us.